Professor David A. Skeel, S. Samuel Arsht Prof. of Corporate Law, Univeristy of Pennsylvania Law School

Gregory G. Katsas, Esq., Former Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and Former Acting Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; Former Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

Lavish, unfunded, or under-funded public-sector pensions have created unsustainable obligations that threaten to bankrupt many states and municipalities. Prof. Skeel and Mr. Katsas will present and discuss a discussion of bankruptcy as one means of structuring and effecting pension changes, some reform measures enacted in the last few years to address the pension problems, and an overview of legal challenges to those measures, generally brought by unions under the Contracts Clause or its state constitutional equivalents. The City of San Jose, California’s pension litigation, as well as the Stockton and Detroit bankruptcies provide real-world data of pension-related problems. Of great local interest is the City of Chicago, which has what may be the most burdensome pension obligations of any large city in the country, as well as the massive unfunded pension obligations of the State of Illinois.

Registration details:

11:30 a.m. - Reception12:00 p.m. - Lunch/Presentation

Early Bird Discount: $20 pre-paid ($10 for students), $30 at the door(Membership has its privileges: $25 at the door with current Federalist Society membership card or Student I.D. in hand)

To get discount rates, RSVP before 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9, 2013 at the Eventbrite page.